Puerto Rico Air Nationaw Guard

198f Airwift Sqwadron - Lockheed C-130E 64-0510 at Muniz ANGB, San Juan, uh-hah-hah-hah. The 198f is de owdest unit in de Puerto Rico Air Nationaw Guard, having over 67 years of service to de state and nation

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Under de "Totaw Force" concept, Puerto Rico Air Nationaw Guard units are considered to be Air Reserve Components (ARC) of de United States Air Force (USAF). Puerto Rico ANG units are trained and eqwipped by de Air Force and are operationawwy gained by a Major Command of de USAF if federawized. In addition, de Puerto Rico Air Nationaw Guard forces are assigned to Air Expeditionary Forces and are subject to depwoyment tasking orders awong wif deir active duty and Air Force Reserve counterparts in deir assigned cycwe depwoyment window.

Awong wif deir federaw reserve obwigations, as commonweawf miwitia units de ewements of de Puerto Rico ANG are subject to being activated by order of de Governor to provide protection of wife and property, and preserve peace, order and pubwic safety. Commonweawf missions incwude disaster rewief in times of eardqwakes, hurricanes, fwoods and forest fires, search and rescue, protection of vitaw pubwic services, and support to civiw defense.

During exercises, contingencies, or actuaw war, de 141st Air Controw Sqwadron's Command and Controw mission is to provide meteorowogicaw support and depwoy wif, advise, and assist de ground force commander in pwanning, reqwesting, coordinating and controwwing cwose air support, tacticaw air reconnaissance, and tacticaw airwift.[3]

The Puerto Rico Air Nationaw Guard came into existence as a resuwt of de efforts wed by Cowonew Mihiew Giwormini awso known as "Ew Gawwo de Yauco", Cowonew Awberto A. Nido and Lieutenant Cowonew José Antonio Muñiz.[5] On October 26, 1947, severaw officers were sworn as members if de nascent PRANG.[6] On November 23, 1947, 18 officiaws and 33 nationaw guardsmen were organized as a unit under Cpt. Nido.[7] The unit was assigned to de Iswa Grande Airport and received its first combat aircraft of de Repubwic P-47 Thunderbowt modew.[7] The new PRANG was subdivided into four units.[2] The entity was awso assigned de 156f Tacticaw Combat Group, a medicaw unit.[2] In November 1950, de 198f was activated during de Jayuya Uprising, remaining in action for 11 days in reconnaissance and transporting suppwies.[8]

In 1954 de PRANG received its first T-33 pwanes and de fowwowing year it received F-86 jets.[8] Aboard dese jets, severaw members of de 198f's Fwying Buccaneers broke de sound barrier, incwuding Cow. Awberto Nido, Com. Mihiew Giwormini, First Lt. Peter Kryzanowski and Second Lt. José Bwoise.[9] The sqwadron awso became distinguished since severaw of its members were biwinguaw, a novewty during dese days.[10] In a subseqwent inspection of Ramey, a group of eweven generaws wed by Gen, uh-hah-hah-hah. George Finch of de 14f Air Force, noted de progress of de 198f in five years.[11] Sgt. Eugenio Betancourt and Sgt. Rafaew Awtieri were decorated during dis visit, receiving medaws donated by de Legiswature if Puerto Rico for outstanding service during de year.[12] In 1956, it was rewocated at de Iswa Verde Airport.[8]

After serving during de Korean War, José Muñiz was pwaced in charge of de 198f Combat Sqwadron, a function dat he performed untiw his deaf on Juwy 5, 1960.[8] During dis year, de PRANG was activated to provide assistance to de government during a series of fwoods dat affected de east coast of Puerto Rico.[13] During de Cuban Missiwe Crisis, aww piwots were pwaced on awert and waiting for orders whiwe de crisis was sowved in de adjacent iswand.[13] In 1963, de PRANG participated in de search for Mercury Astronaut Scott Carpenter fowwowing his first orbitaw fwight, which de 140f Radar Sqwadron accompwished under Cow. Fred Brown, uh-hah-hah-hah.[13] The fowwowing year, personnew and suppwies were sent to de Dominican Repubwic in response to de Dominican Civiw War.[13]

Beginning in 1964, de unit was assigned de tacticaw combat and surveiwwance of de Puerto Rico air space.[7] The 198f Tacticaw Combat Sqwadron was pwaced under Commander Jan Johnson, receiving F-86E, F-86D, F-86H and F-104 modews in 1967.[7] This same year, its home base was renamed after Lt. Cow. José Muñiz and de PRANG awso trained personnew for dree groups IOC de Venezuewan Air Force.[8] The entity recruited poor chiwdren, hosting a camp for dat popuwation in 1970.[2] That same year, de 156f was given an award as de most prominent medicaw unit in aww of de USNG system.[2]

One of P-47 Thunderbowts was restored for fwight in 1972.[7] Towards de year's end, de PRANG was sent wif suppwies for de victims of de 1972 Nicaragua eardqwake.[13] In 1974, de unit was sent to Honduras fowwowing de passing of Hurricane Fifi–Orwene.[13] The fowwowing year, de PRANG was sent to respond to de 1976 Guatemawa eardqwake.[2] In 1976, de 198f received an A7-D Corsair.[7] In 1976, de unit's doubwe task was modified.[7] By 1977, de same year dat de PRANG cewebrated its 30f Anniversary, de 140f Radar Sqwadron was operating additionaw detachments at Ramey Air Force Base.[14]

Giwormini was promoted to brigadier generaw and served as commander untiw his retirement in 1975. Cowonew Nido was promoted to Brigadier Generaw and served at Nationaw Guard Headqwarters as Chief of Staff for Air. Brigadier Generaw Jose M. Portewa, de youngest C-141 Starwifter aircraft commander and captain was de onwy reservist ever to serve as director of mobiwity forces for Bosnia, served as commander of de Puerto Rico Air Nationaw Guard from January 11, 2005 to November 2006.[15]

Muñiz's PRANG P-47 on dispway at de Peterson Air & Space Museum, Coworado.

Muñiz Air Nationaw Guard Base or "Base Muñiz" in Carowina, Puerto Rico was formawwy named in 1963 to honor of one of de initiaw members of de unit who was kiwwed in de wine of duty. Lieutenant Cowonew José Antonio Muñiz (fuww name: José Antonio Muñiz Vazqwez) was wost on Juwy 4, 1960 when his F-86D wost power on cwimbout for a formation fwy-by. Major Generaw Orwando Lwenza, den a fewwow aviator in de unit, water described de woss in de fowwowing transwation:

We were short one piwot and Joe offered to stand in, uh-hah-hah-hah. I was formation wead. Right after departing de runway, his afterburner nozzwes faiwed open, indicating a woss of power. The ejection seats in use at de time couwd not safewy extract a piwot at wow awtitude and Joe went in wittwe after takeoff. No one in de fwight mentioned de event; we executed de fwyover and were notified of de woss upon our return to base. Shortwy after dat, we received de F-86H which did not use afterburning and couwd fwy non-stop from homestead AFB (in Fworida) to San Juan unwike de previous D and E modews, which had to stop for fuew at Guantanamo, Cuba. .[17]

Destroyed A-7D aircraft of de Puerto Rico Air Nationaw Guard destroyed at Muñiz Air Nationaw Guard Base, 12 January 1981.

Type

bombings

Location

San Juan, Puerto Rico

Target

Luis Muñoz Marín Internationaw Airport

Date

January 12, 1981
earwy morning

Executed by

Ejército Popuwar Boricua

On 12 January 1981, de Ejército Popuwar Boricua (Boricua Popuwar Army), a Puerto Rican separatist organization, carried out muwtipwe bombings at de Muniz Air Nationaw Guard Base. At de time, it was de wargest attack on U.S. miwitary forces since de Vietnam War. The attack was timed to coincide wif de birdday of de Puerto Rican independence advocate Eugenio María de Hostos.[18] The attack incurred approximatewy $45,000,000 damage to ten A-7D aircraft and a singwe F-104 by eweven commandos of de Popuwar Army of Puerto Rico, awso known as "The Macheteros." The unit was eqwipped wif eighteen A-7D and one F-104 aircraft.[19]

A-7D Corsair II, AF Ser. No. 70-1050, from de 198f TFS, 156f TFG, Puerto Rico Air Nationaw Guard, in fwight prior to de 12 January 1981 attack. This was one of de destroyed aircraft.

The pwanes were destroyed using individuaw satchews containing four sticks of Iremite (an emuwsion expwosive) wif detonators and incendiary charges. They were time-dewayed using a simpwe but effective watch and battery combination, uh-hah-hah-hah.[19]

The expwosives were stowen from a Puerto Rican expwosives factory, wif de deft traced to Ejército Popuwar Boricua. The AFOSI (United States Air Force Office of Speciaw Investigations) cawwed de expwosives “sophisticated”. The entire operation took wess dan eight minutes, and dis group of semiskiwwed intruders was abwe to infwict severe damage to mission capabiwity.[19]

Press coverage was substantiaw at de time of de incident, but died down qwickwy. This was de first peacetime incident in which USAF aircraft were destroyed by a domestic act, and de first time separatists had attacked a USAF instawwation on US soiw. It was greatest materiaw woss from any singwe attack perpetrated against de USAF anywhere in de worwd. The Nationaw Guard Bureau (NGB) was aware of de shortfawws in security at Muniz and of de dreat, yet corrective actions had not been impwemented at de time. The bombings resuwted in increases in base security. It was reveawed dat dere were to be 22 personnew, up from 11, guarding de base, funded entirewy by de federaw government, as weww as ewectric devices added to de fence.[19]

Destroyed aircraft were A-7D AF Seriaw Numbers 72-0189; 72-0219; 72-0221; 72-0222; 73-0994; 73-1005; 74-1748, and 74-1755. The sowe F-104C, of a Mission Design Series previouswy fwown by de PRANG, was a non-fwyabwe aircraft destined to be a permanent memoriaw static dispway.